To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: Eight-year-old Harry wakes up from strange visions in hospital. 'I won't go back to the Dursleys,' he decided. 'I'll search out Professor Snape. He kept me safe during all my years at Hogwarts. He'll be able to help me.' Completely AU, partly OOC. HP/HG
1. Visions

**To Sleep, Perchance to Dream**

**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._

_I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes!_

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, abuse!Dursleys, sick!Harry  
_

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**1 – Visions**

"Move it, freak!" Dudley shouted, before he pushed eight-year-old Harry full force from behind, causing the younger boy to fall down the stairs at school.

The world around Harry turned black and he knew nothing more for a long time. He was brought to the nearby hospital, where he remained in a coma for two months.

偶然の夢

Everything around Harry was quiet in the small hospital room; however, as Harry's unconscious mind slowly recovered from the bad concussion, it managed to develop an ability that had been dormant on his mother's side of the family as she descended from a long line of Squibs going back as far as Rowena Ravenclaw, who had been a Seer.

Over two months, Harry was forced by his own mind to watch scenes of wizards, who wanted to kill him, of his relatives, who abused and neglected him, and of friends and teachers, who loved and supported him. By the time he woke up from his coma, he had just watched himself killing Voldemort and felt happier than he had ever been before since his mother had died. '_The only sad thing was Professor Snape's death, but perhaps we'll be able to prevent it, if we know how it happened before_,' he mused, somehow knowing immediately that he had seen his own future. '_I won't go back to the Dursleys_,' he decided. '_I'll go and search out Professor Snape. He kept me safe during all my years at Hogwarts. He'll be able to help me get away from my relatives, especially if I show him my memories in the thing he used earlier, whatever it was called_.'

For the rest of the day, he impatiently endured the nurses' and doctors' fussing; however, as soon as it became night, he silently crept out of the hospital, not willing to stay for at least another week like the doctors had told him. He hurried into the park in search for a stick that he could use as wand, knowing from the memories he had watched that he could call the triple-decker bus to travel to Hogwarts. '_No_,' he mused. '_Maybe he isn't at Hogwarts at the moment. I don't know if the summer holidays are already over. In my fifth or sixth year I managed to change into a phoenix and could flash myself somewhere. I should try that instead_.' Remembering exactly how his older self had practised the Animagus transformation, he slowly turned each of his body parts into a phoenix form.

Without further thinking, he concentrated on the image of Professor Snape that he remembered from his visions and flashed.

偶然の夢

Severus Snape was just finishing a complicated potion that Madam Pomfrey urgently needed when all of a sudden something white entered his field of vision. '_What the..._' the Potions Master mused and quickly extinguished the flame under his cauldron, before he let his eyes wander along the ingredients shelf in search for the white thing that had intruded his private sphere.

The white object seemed to be a feathered ball that had remained on the floor. '_A phoenix_,' Snape realised in surprise. However, as soon as he leaned down in order to offer the bird a ride on his hand, the phoenix stumbled backwards and transformed into a small boy, dressed in stripy pyjamas.

'_Am I delirious?_' Severus mused as he recognised the boy, terrified. "Potter?" he asked in disbelief, having no idea how his childhood enemy could have made his way into his private lab.

"Yes, I am Harry Potter. I'm very sorry to disturb you, sir," the boy said politely. "I urgently need to speak with Professor Snape. You are Professor Snape, aren't you, sir?"

"I am Professor Snape, and I'd like to know what gives you the right to intrude into my private quarters, let alone at this time of the night," Severus sneered, observing contentedly as the small boy backed up even more.

"I am very sorry, Professor, but I was in hospital, and I could only escape at this time of the night. I only woke up from a come or something this afternoon," Harry explained uncertainly.

"From a coma?" Severus asked incredulously.

"Yes sir. My cousin pushed me down the stairs a few days before the beginning of the summer holidays, and ever since then I have been in hospital in a coma, and I've had many strange visions. Many of them involved you, sir, and since you always helped me and kept me safe, I decided to come to you. I'm sorry for being such a burden, but I didn't know how to contact you. I was glad I managed to come here at all, because I learned in one of the visions how I could change into a phoenix and flash."

Severus sighed as he observed the boy in disbelief and surprise, taking in the dark rings around the boy's eyes. His cheeks were feverishly flushed, and beads of sweat were building on his forehead. "You do not seem well enough to run around, let alone flash yourself over such a distance. Do I understand correctly that you just ran away from the hospital?"

"Yes sir," Harry admitted, hesitantly averting his eyes to the floor.

"Very well. Let's get out of my lab and sit in the living room," Severus decided in a gentler voice and led the small boy into the next room, noticing that Harry looked around in obvious amazement.

Severus glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece. It was already midnight. "Mr. Potter, as eager I am to watch the memories that brought you to me in a Pensieve, I suggest that I ask Madam Pomfrey to come and check on you and we retire for the night. We'll have enough time to continue our conversation in the morning. Do you agree?"

'_If he lied about these visions, he'll be in a lot of trouble_,' he mused as he transfigured the sofa into a comfortable bed and motioned the child to lie down. '_Why would he willingly come to me if it wasn't true though?_'

"Yes sir. Thank you sir," Harry said gratefully, before he added hesitantly, "Professor, the Headmaster must not know that I'm here. He would send me back to my relatives right away, but I hope that you'll understand if I show you the memories, sir."

"Professor Dumbledore is not at Hogwarts at the moment. We still have one week of holidays left, and he returned to his home for the week," Severus replied and headed to the fireplace to call the Mediwitch.

A few minutes later, the Mediwitch, whom Harry already knew from his visions, stepped out of the fireplace, and Severus explained quickly why Harry was in his quarters.

"A very good choice to seek out Professor Snape's help, sweetie," Poppy said gently as she waved her wand over Harry several times. "He'll be best able to help you, and he was your mother's best friend."

"I know," Harry replied tiredly, and a small smile appeared on his face.

"It was not a good idea to run away from the hospital and flash here though," Poppy continued in a sterner voice. "You probably aggravated your condition. You have a concussion that is not completely healed, and you're running a temperature. No transforming into your phoenix form, no flashing or flying or anything else strenuous for a week. No Apparating or Floo-ing either. Severus, you need to keep an eye on the child."

The Potions Master quickly fetched the potions the Mediwitch asked for, observing as she spelled them into the boy's system, before he let out a long sigh as Harry drifted off to sleep. "So that means I'm stuck with the offspring of my childhood enemy for a week?" He raised an eyebrow at his friend, who rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"He is also Lily's son. Don't forget that, Severus. She made you his unofficial godfather and asked you to keep the child safe, didn't she?"

"Very well," Severus sighed. "Poppy, I need to see the visions the boy was talking about. May I take the memories into a Pensieve? I assume Legilimency would aggravate his condition even more."

"That's true," Poppy replied thoughtfully. "You may only take one memory at a time and only as long as Harry is willing to cooperate. If his headache becomes too bad, you'll have to stop immediately."

"Poppy, I'm sure the boy will be missed at the hospital, and the doctors will certainly contact the Dursleys. Is there any chance that they might contact Albus?"

"Severus, I have no idea. Let's call Minerva and have tea together. I know that she was always very fond of little Harry. She'll do everything to help you hiding him if necessary."

The three colleagues and friends spent half of the night drinking tea and speaking about the small boy that was fast asleep next to them, safe from their talking and laughing by a Silencing charm.

In the morning, Harry jerked awake, realising that he couldn't breathe. Something was clouding his face, and he could only see something red in front of his eyes. Unable to recall where he was at first, Harry began to panic, when an unknown voice penetrated his ears.

_tbc..._


	2. Remembering

**To Sleep, Perchance to Dream**

**by Healer Pomfrey**

_Please refer to the disclaimer and warnings in chapter 1!_

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**2 – Remembering**

#It's all right. Don't make yourself so upset. I merely came to say Hello,# a phoenix's voice suddenly penetrated Harry's ear. #I'm Fawkes, by the way, and I'm glad to have a chick friend here at my nest AKA Hogwarts, even if you're still a nestling.#

"Can you get away from my face so I can breathe please?" Harry asked sleepily, sighing in relief as Fawkes obeyed immediately.

#I'm sorry, nestling; I didn't want to frighten you,# the phoenix apologized and stepped aside, just when the Potions Master entered the living room.

"Good morning Harry; Fawkes," he noticed in surprise. "Did Fawkes bring a letter for me?" he queried.

#I merely wanted to become friends with the chick here,# Fawkes trilled happily and flashed away, causing Harry to chuckle.

"What did he say? Can you understand him?" Severus asked, raising an eyebrow at Harry.

"Yes, he said he wanted to become friends with me."

"Very well; how are you feeling, Mr. Potter?"

"Fine. Err, are you just leaving, sir?" he asked, suddenly realising that Severus was wearing a travel robe.

Severus let out a long sigh. "No Mr. Potter; Professor McGonagall, whom I'm sure you'll remember from your memories, and I paid your relatives a visit this morning to ensure that they'll confirm that you're still living with them and that you have just gone to visit a friend in case anyone asks for you."

"Oh, that's good. Thank you, sir," Harry agreed, sighing in relief.

"I have known Petunia well when I was your age," Severus admitted hesitantly, "and she has always hated magic. She gave your mother a hard time while she attended Hogwarts. Now, since Madam Pomfrey ordered you to stay in bed for the moment, I suggest having breakfast here in the living room. Afterwards, I'd like you to tell me about your visions."

"Can't I just put them..." Harry slowly trailed off, remembering that he wasn't allowed to question an adult's decision.

"Into a Pensieve?" Severus asked gently. "Madam Pomfrey told me that I may only take one memory at a time and that it might worsen your headache. Therefore, I'd like to tell me about the visions today, so that I can watch the memories, which I deem the most important, first."

"Oh, all right."

"Have you seen Cicero in your visions? He is my personal house-elf," Severus explained and called Cicero, causing Harry to smile.

"Hello Cicero," he said in a soft voice. He couldn't recall having seen Cicero, but he had watched visions of Dobby and knew that the house-elves were very kind beings.

Severus ordered breakfast, and Harry smiled in amazement as it popped up on the table in front of him. '_Watching visions and seeing magic in real is very different_,' he mused, suddenly realising that his stomach felt a bit queasy and that he wasn't hungry at all. "I'm sorry, Professor, I don't think I can eat right now. May I begin to tell you instead, while you eat?"

Severus gave Harry a sharp look. "Are you feeling worse than last night?"

"No, but..."

"I need you to get something into your stomach, so that I can give you the potions," Severus said gently, holding out a piece of buttered toast for the child. "Just try if you can manage to eat a bit."

Harry only managed to take a few bites, before his stomach revolted and he got sick all over himself. "I'm sorry, sir," he apologized, feeling absolutely terrified to do that to the professor, who had been so nice to him.

"That's not a problem," Severus said kindly, cleaning Harry and his bed with the flick of his wand, before he held out a glass of water for him, instructing him, "only take small sips." A few minutes later, he stepped to the fireplace and called Poppy.

The Mediwitch waved her wand over Harry several times, before she said thoughtfully, "I have the impression as if Harry caused his condition to worsen immensely by flashing yesterday. I just hope that he didn't cause permanent damage to his brain..."

"Am I going to be too stupid to attend Hogwarts?" Harry asked anxiously, glancing from the Mediwitch to the professor.

"No," they both replied simultaneously, before Poppy explained, "You might get headaches more often than other people and you might get really sick from it. You don't have to worry though, sweetie. As long as you're here at Hogwarts, Professor Snape and I are here and will be able to help you."

"Thank you," Harry said in relief, sighing contentedly as he felt the potion take effect, which Poppy had just spelled into his system.

"Now Harry, you will stay in this bed until I'll tell you otherwise," Poppy said sternly and turned to the fireplace.

"Poppy, stay please," Severus said in his soft silky voice. "Mr. Potter was just going to tell me about his visions, and I'd like you and Minerva to listen in."

Poppy agreed, and a few minutes later, the Transfiguration professor, whom Severus introduced as Professor McGonagall, stepped out of the fireplace.

"I know you," Harry said in a small voice, "you're the Head of Gryffindor and the Headmistress after the war. You were my Head of House, because I was so stupid to listen to people who caused me to talk the Sorting Hat into placing me into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin as he originally intended to. Oh well, I better start at the beginning, don't I?" he suddenly remembered, leaning against the head of his bed.

"Yes please, Harry," Minerva said gently, taking a seat on the chair next to Poppy, while Severus had made himself comfortable in his favourite armchair.

In a quiet voice, Harry began to tell the teachers how Hagrid came to bring him his Hogwarts letter and took him shopping. He told them about his Sorting and about Professor Quirrel, looking up startled when Severus conjured a parchment and pointed his wand at it, causing the professor's meticulous handwriting to appear.

"I am merely taking notes of which memories we have to watch at any cost," the professor explained calmingly. "Please go on, but only as long as you feel well enough to do so."

Harry continued to recall his visions, although he wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen during his third Hogwarts year anymore. After the events at the end of his fourth year, of which he was again sure that they had occurred during his fourth year, he felt absolutely exhausted. "I'm sorry, but may I lie down for a moment?" he asked in a small voice, causing the teachers to jerk out of their stupor, in which they had been following his story with horror and interest.

"Of course, Harry, lie down and get some rest," Minerva said softly, while Poppy gently helped him into a comfortable position and waved her wand over him.

"Thank you," Harry said gratefully and visibly relaxed as he felt his headache subside due to the headache potion the Mediwitch had just spelled into his stomach. "The worst about everything are the prophecy and the Horcruxes," he continued to explain, before he remembered something.

"Mr. Potter, we really appreciate that you're able to give us so much information that is very valuable. However, I believe that you need to rest for a while, in order not to aggravate your condition even more," Severus said sternly, noticing that Harry was fiercely rubbing his forehead as he spoke.

"Okay, Professor. I need you to teach me Potions, so that I'll be good enough in a few years' time to work together with you. We must invent a potion together," Harry replied as he slowly succumbed to the sleeping potion Poppy had unobtrusively spelled into his system, leaving the adults to exchange confused looks.

"Now that was interesting, Severus," Poppy smirked, glancing at the Potions Masters' confused expression.

"Well, Lily has always excelled in Potions," Minerva threw in. "Why shouldn't Harry be able to invent a potion together with you, whatever it is that he deems necessary to invent."

Severus contented himself to roll his eyes at his older colleagues. '_Inventing a potion together with a Potter_,' he sneered inwardly; '_I must be going nuts_.'

_tbc..._


	3. Organising

**To Sleep, Perchance to Dream**

**by Healer Pomfrey**

_Please refer to the disclaimer and warnings in chapter 1!_

* * *

**3 – Organising**

During the rest of the week, Harry's condition only improved very slowly, and although he managed to tell the adults about the remaining years until his final defeat of Voldemort, he was not allowed to put any memories into the Pensieve.

"I believe that not only his running away, transforming and flashing aggravated his condition, but that his visions already harmed his brain as well as his overall health condition," Poppy worriedly told her colleagues. "Fortunately, he still seems to be very alert and intelligent; however, if we want him to be able to attend his Hogwarts classes in a few years' time without collapsing unconscious due to bad headaches, we need to keep a close eye on him."

"In that case, I think we need to alert Albus to the matter," Severus said thoughtfully. "After what Potter told us, he seems to play a huge role in the matter with the Horcruxes, about which I, frankly speaking, know nothing. However, I will not let him return the boy to his relatives, considering the nightmares I witnessed, in which he was begging his uncle not to hurt him."

"He even told us that Hagrid has to go and fetch him, because the Dursleys won't allow him to have his Hogwarts letter," Minerva threw in. "Severus, you have my full support in this matter, and if Albus doesn't see reason, I'll be willing to fight him or hide the child together with you."

"I will support you as well of course," Poppy said softly. "I didn't tell you that so far, but when I thoroughly examined him, I found several injuries and illnesses that remained untreated and just somehow healed by themselves."

"Even from his behaviour it is obvious that he was neglected and at least verbally abused in his so-called home," Severus said firmly. "I hope that Albus will see reason though. I wouldn't want to fight him."

"There is one thing you have to consider before speaking with Albus though, Severus," Minerva said softly. "If he agrees for Harry to remain at Hogwarts, he will order you to become his guardian. Are you ready to become a father to Harry Potter?"

Severus threw his older colleague a horrified look. '_A father to a Potter? No, that's impossible. He is Potter's offspring, and I can't..._' He was pulled out of his thoughts when Poppy calmingly laid a hand on his right arm and said soothingly, "Severus, remember that he is Lily's son and Lily made you his unofficial godfather; moreover, the boy chose you and took all the effort he could to come to you. I know that you'll make a good father, Severus, and it will do both of you good to finally have a family."

"Very well; however, what am I going to do with him during class time? If I might remind you, classes are going to begin in three days' time," Severus sneered, quirking an eyebrow. "It'll take two more years, before Potter is going to attend normal classes here."

"Should we send him to a primary school?" Minerva queried, carefully adjusting a cool towel to Harry's forehead as he slept.

"No, considering his brain damage, you can't send him to a primary school, not because he is not alert enough to follow the lessons, but because he won't be able to concentrate enough without getting terrible headaches," Poppy objected firmly. "I could ask my grandmother to return to Hogwarts. In fact, I've been pestering her for quite a time, because the work in the hospital wing is too much for one Mediwitch; however, she is very reluctant to give up her freedom. I'm sure though that she would be willing to come and help me, if she had to teach Harry at the same time."

"Theresa would be a good teacher for Harry," Minerva agreed immediately, knowing the former Mediwitch and her best friend's grandmother very well. "She'd even be able to keep Albus on his toes."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

By the time the Headmaster returned to Hogwarts, the three adults had finished their planning. Theresa accepted the offered position, provided that the Headmaster would agree, and Severus had prepared the guardianship parchments that listed him as permanent guardian to one Harry Potter with Minerva and Poppy as godmothers.

"I hope Dumbledore will agree to everything," Harry said anxiously as the conspirators had breakfast together in Severus' quarters on the last day of the holidays.

"It's Professor Dumbledore, Mr. Potter," Severus corrected him firmly.

"I'm sorry sir; of course Professor Dumbledore," Harry agreed.

"If you tell him that I agreed to return to Hogwarts, if – and only if – he allows me to teach Harry, he might be willing to consent to your plan," Theresa spoke up, knowing that Dumbledore had always been very soft when it came to her.

"Oh, that sounds interesting, Granny," Poppy said questioningly, noticing the smirk on her grandmother's face.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Later the same day, Minerva, Poppy and Albus paid the Headmaster a visit, while Theresa remained with Harry. "Harry, tell me something; what were your favourite subjects at your primary school?"

Harry's expression darkened visibly. "I love to learn, and I liked everything, but I always had to be careful that I wasn't better than Dudley; otherwise, Uncle Vernon was very angry," he admitted in a small voice. "In my visions I'm very good at Defence at Hogwarts, but I also like Transfiguration, and I'm interested in Potions, but the professor is always very mean to me in class." He shrugged. "I don't know. I love to read, but I never had a book, only Dudley had, and I wasn't allowed..." He slowly trailed off.

Theresa smiled at the boy. "Tomorrow, school is going to begin again, and if the Headmaster agrees, I'll teach you from now on. You may read and learn as much as you want. Now, what do you think, shall we go for a walk around the lake? In fact, I'd love to take you to the station later on when the students are going to arrive, so that we could take a boat back to the castle, but I'm afraid I don't have so much time, because I still need to help Poppy with the last preparations for the school year."

"I could help with the preparations," Harry offered gently, causing the old Mediwitch to throw him a thoughtful look.

"Are you sure that you feel up to it?" Theresa asked in a soft voice and, seeing him nod eagerly, led him to her and Poppy's office. She asked Harry to check the inventory of all potions phials, noticing that Harry could read very well for his age. In the meantime, she busied herself preparing cards for the new first years that were going to arrive that day.

As the time passed, Harry became excited by the minute. '_Why does it take them so long?_' he wondered. '_Probably, the Headmaster doesn't want me to be here. Maybe I should just go and hide in Snape's quarters in my phoenix form._' Unfortunately, the more he worried, the worse his headache became, which had been bothering him since the morning.

Of course, this didn't go unnoticed by the experienced Mediwitch. "Harry, are you feeling unwell?" she asked in concern and made him lie down on the sofa in a corner of her office. "Rest for a while. I'll wake you up when they come back."

Just then the fireplace flared and Poppy, Minerva, Severus and the Headmaster stepped out of the fireplace. Harry hurriedly sat up and backed up in a corner of the sofa, throwing the teachers a hesitant look.

"Albus," Theresa greeted the Headmaster, who threw her a troubled look.

"I'm glad to have you back here, Theresa," he said gently, "but did it have to be under such conditions?"

"Apparently yes," Theresa replied in a soft but firm voice. "We must help the child, Albus."

"I need to see his memories," Dumbledore said thoughtfully, popping a lemon drop into his mouth.

"You may only watch one memory a day. More is not possible, considering his fragile health condition," Theresa replied firmly, glaring at the Headmaster. "You should know better than to keep eating lemon drops all day long," she said sternly, causing her younger colleagues to chuckle.

"Tell him, Granny," Poppy laughed. "It's good to have you back."

"Harry, I'd like a few words with you. Would you mind accompanying me to my office for a short while?" Dumbledore finally turned to Harry, who threw Severus and Theresa anxious looks and slowly began to panic. '_I don't want to be alone with him_,' he thought. '_What if he still wants to send me back to the Dursleys?_'

_tbc..._


	4. Adjusting

**To Sleep, Perchance to Dream**

**by Healer Pomfrey**

_Please refer to the disclaimer and warnings in chapter 1!_

* * *

**4 – Adjusting**

"Albus, you must not take Harry with you, but you may speak with him here for a few minutes. He helped me catalogue the potions phials and wasn't feeling well afterwards; therefore, I want him to rest for a while, before I'm going to take him with me to the station in order to ride the boats back," Theresa said firmly.

Dumbledore frowned but apparently knew better than to contradict Theresa and pulled himself a chair next to the sofa where Harry was resting. The Headmaster asked him in detail about Voldemort and Horcruxes, and Harry willingly told the old wizard everything about his visions that he deemed necessary for the Headmaster to know.

"Thank you, Harry," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "This insight is going to help us a great deal. There is just one problem." Seeing that the child cast him a questioning look, he explained in a gentle voice, "You're still in great danger. Therefore, you need the blood wards, which I cast around the Dursleys' residence, to keep you safe."

"No Professor," Harry objected vehemently. "I was never safe at the Dursleys. They locked me in and starved me. That's why I decided to leave them and search for Professor Snape. He always managed to keep me safe here at Hogwarts. Hogwarts is my home, and I'd appreciate if you allowed me to stay here. If you take me back to my relatives, I will not stay there, and you won't see me again anytime soon."

"Albus, I'm sorry, but I have to ask you to leave now," Theresa interrupted their conversation in a stern voice, seeing that Harry was absentmindedly rubbing his forehead.

Dumbledore grudgingly rose from his seat and stepped in front of the fireplace. Just when the flames turned green, he turned around and said, "Very well Harry, you may stay at Hogwarts with Professor Snape as your guardian."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry replied in apparent relief, and a small smile played on his lips as he lay down for a much needed nap.

HP

During the following few months, Severus helped Harry to put one memory each day into the Pensieve and regularly shared the information with McGonagall and Dumbledore, so that the adults could decide in which cases they had to interfere and which parts would better left untouched in order to not change the future in unfortunate ways. Theresa taught Harry normal Muggle knowledge like Maths and Writing, but she also began to introduce him to easy charms and spells as well as common knowledge about the magical world. She realised soon that Harry was a very interested and intelligent boy; however, his poor health condition only allowed him to concentrate over relatively short times.

Since Dumbledore was concerned about Harry's safety and worried what would happen if anyone became aware of the fact that he was residing at Hogwarts, the teachers kept Harry out of sight of the students. While Severus used to have breakfast together with the child in his quarters, Harry ate lunch and dinner with Theresa and Poppy. He was only allowed to roam the castle when the students were in class, and he could flash and fly around the grounds in his phoenix form.

At the end of November, Severus informed Harry, "Today, the first Quidditch match of the year is going to take place. Would you like to watch it in your phoenix form?"

Harry happily agreed and observed the match from a tree at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. While he was waiting for the match to commence, he skimmed the rows with students with interest, wondering if there was anyone, whom he recognised from his visions. '_Of course, Fred and George_,' he thought, noticing the read haired twins sit in the Gryffindor stands. '_They must be first years. I wished I could go and speak with them. It would be so great to have friends_.'

It was early in December, a few days after the Quidditch match, that Harry decided to speak with his guardian about the matter. "Professor, may I speak with you about something?" he hesitantly asked, when Snape strode into his room to say good night and tuck him in as he used to do every evening.

"Of course, Harry," Severus replied, raising an eyebrow at his ward in unspoken query.

"I'm sorry, sir, if I'm asking too much, although I'm already such a burden to you," Harry began to speak in a barely audible voice. "It's just that I know from my memories that I love Quidditch. I played on the House team as Seeker from my first year onwards, and I was just wondering if there would be a way that I could perhaps go and fly together with the students. I mean not when they have Quidditch practice, just with the other students, who're not on teams. I also..." He cast his guardian a hesitant look, feeling very much reassured when the professor took a seat on the edge of his bed and nodded encouragingly. "The Weasley twins were very good friends in my visions. I'd love to get to know them. So far, I don't have any magical friends; I only know everyone from visions..." He slowly trailed off, wondering if he was demanding too much.

"Harry," Snape replied in a soft voice, "I understand. Please give me a few weeks to consider your situation and speak with your godmothers as well as Theresa and Professor Dumbledore. I promise that I will have a solution to your problem by Christmas at the latest."

"Thank you so much, sir," Harry replied gratefully, and a smile appeared on his face that turned into a huge yawn.

"Good night, Harry," Severus replied and gently tucked him in, smiling as the boy's brilliant green eyes that reminded him of his best friend slowly closed and his breathing became regular.

HP

By the time the winter holidays began, Harry felt slightly disappointed. As much as he loved living together with the professor and having classes with the kind, old Mediwitch, he couldn't wait to become friends with students, especially since he never had a friend before. '_Apparently Snape wasn't able to convince the Headmaster_,' he thought as he sat on his favourite tree at the edge of the Forbidden Forest in his phoenix form and watched the students board the carriages that were going to take them to the station in Hogsmeade. '_Snape is so very different from how he was in my visions_,' Harry mused, feeling very grateful towards his guardian, who was very kind and behaved like a real father. One day, he had even gone to the Potters' former house, where he had visited Lily a few times when Harry was still a baby, and had searched for Lily's and James' wands, which he had brought back to Hogwarts for Harry to use until he would be eleven and allowed to officially have his own wand. He had spent a few hours with Harry helping him to try out which wand was more suitable for him, before they had agreed that he should use Lily's for the time being.

Deep in thoughts, Harry followed the carriages and slowly flew to Hogsmeade, hoping to return to Hogwarts together with the teachers in his human form.

An hour later, when they walked back to the castle, McGonagall asked kindly, "Harry, would you like to help Professor Flitwick and me to decorate the Christmas tree in the Great Hall?"

"With magic?" Harry asked eagerly. "I'd love to help, Professor." He quickly looked at his guardian, who smirked and unobtrusively nodded his head. During the next few hours, Harry was busy trying to transfigure tissues into baubles and put various patterns on the ornaments, before he noticed that his head began to hurt as always when he concentrated on something for more than the duration of about two school hours. '_I still need to make one for Professor Snape_,' he thought as he absentmindedly rubbed his forehead. He pointed his wand at another tissue and transfigured it into a dark green bauble.

"Professor Flitwick?" he hesitantly addressed the tiny Charms teacher. "I'd like to put a bubbling cauldron onto this one. Can you tell me..." He slowly trailed off, seeing that the professors looked at him in concern.

"Harry, do you have a headache?" McGonagall queried in apparent concern as he unconsciously rubbed his forehead again.

"My head hurts a bit, but it's all right. I'd like to make this for Professor Snape," Harry replied quietly.

"Show me the ornament," Professor Flitwick said gently, and instants later, the bauble in Harry's hand held a pattern of a golden cauldron. Several ingredients were flying into the cauldron, before the potion inside exploded and formed letters, displaying 'Merry Christmas', and the process began anew.

"Wow, this is absolutely cool," Harry said, looking at the ornament in his hands in complete amazement. "Thank you so much, Professor."

"You're welcome, my boy," Professor Flitwick said, smiling fondly at Harry. "In a few years' time, you'll be able to charm objects like this. Your mother was the best student I ever had."

HP

When Harry woke up in the morning, his guardian was sitting on the edge of his bed, engrossed in a Potions journal. "Good morning, Professor," he said sleepily.

"Good morning, Harry. Merry Christmas," Severus replied in a soft voice.

'_Oh right, it's Christmas Day_,' Harry remembered, wondering if he would receive presents for the first time in his life like it had been in his visions.

"Harry, we have decided to have the house-elves put all the Christmas presents under the tree in the Great Hall," the Potions Master informed him. "However, I'd like to give you my present here, while we're alone."

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your wonderful comments, and sorry for the delay! I hope to be able to update sooner this time..._


	5. Celebrating

**To Sleep, Perchance to Dream**

**by Healer Pomfrey**

_Please refer to the disclaimer and warnings in chapter 1!_

* * *

**Celebrating**

Harry sat up in confusion, gratefully accepting his glasses that the professor handed him, before he cast him a curious look, when Severus held out a parchment. "Harry, I'd like to suggest something to you. However, it's just a suggestion, and you're completely free to accept or decline. Nothing will change if you don't want to do this."

Harry glanced at the parchment and looked at the professor in silent question. "Harry, my suggestion is that I adopt you, so that you could change your name if that's what you want. There is also the possibility of giving you a blood adopting potion, which would make you at least partly change your outer appearance as you'd get some of my traits. People would probably not be able to recognise you as easily as they do now."

"You'd really become my father?" Harry enquired with a mixture of disbelief and delight. "I'd like that, and I'd like to look a bit like you. Will I be able to go into the castle and make friends then?"

"Yes Harry," Severus replied, and a small smile stole itself onto his face.

"What do we have to do?" Harry asked eagerly, ready to jump out of his bed.

Severus smirked, gently holding the excited boy back. "Stay, Harry. I merely have to give you the potion and sign the adoption parchment, if you're really sure that you want to do this. I don't mind if you speak about the matter with Aunt Minerva and Aunt Poppy first."

Harry shook his head in determination. "No sir. I am sure," he said firmly, looking at Severus in expectation.

"Very well then," Severus said, sighing, and slowly pulled a small phial filled with a dark red liquid out of his robe pocket. "Let me warn you though, Harry. This might hurt, because your limbs might have to adjust to your new body."

"No problem," Harry replied, casting a huge smile at his guardian. He eagerly accepted the phial and gulped down the liquid, noticing to his surprise that it tasted less bad than he had expected from the potions, which he had occasionally taken during the last months.

"Now take this," Severus instructed him, exchanging the empty phial in Harry's hand with a new one. "It is a pain relieving potion."

'_Do I really need that?_' Harry wondered but did not want to make his new father angry by questioning his decisions and took the potion. He just managed to take the phial from his lips as he felt how his body began to change.

Severus gently helped him to lie down, watching in concern how the boy's face took on the form of his own. "Are you in pain?" he queried in a soft voice, quirking an eyebrow when the child smiled.

"No sir; it tickles," Harry replied. "Am I going to get tall like you?"

"Apparently yes," Severus replied, smirking. "And you have my hair along with your mother's eyes. I am sure your godmothers will find you very handsome." He picked up the guardianship parchments and his quill, before he asked, "Do you agree to change your name to 'Harry Severus Snape'?"

"Yes sir," Harry said promptly. "Thank you so very much for becoming my father. I have never received a Christmas present until my first Hogwarts year, but this is the best present I could ever imagine."

"I'm glad to hear that... son," Severus said, feeling strangely proud of the boy. '_Now he is not only Lily's and Potter's, but also part mine, and he doesn't resemble Potter at all_,' he thought, before he returned his gaze to the parchments. "I suggest that we change your birth date."

"That's true," Harry said thoughtfully. "I know from the visions that many people associate the thirty-first of July with Harry Potter's birthday."

They decided on August 18, and an instant after Severus had added his signature, the parchment rolled up itself and vanished into thin air.

"Very well then, shall we go to the Great Hall for Christmas breakfast?" Severus suggested, and Harry nodded eagerly.

HP

Together, the new-born father and son walked down to the Great Hall, where Harry's godmothers and a few other teachers and students, who had remained at the castle during the holidays, were already assembled. Seeing that everyone eyed him with curiosity, Harry cast his father a help searching look, causing Severus to introduce the boy as his son. "My wife suddenly died, so that I had to take in Harry," he explained, gently leading Harry to the empty seat next to the Gryffindor Head, while he lowered himself into the chair next to his son.

"My aren't you a handsome young man," McGonagall said kindly, causing her colleagues to express their agreement.

"All the first year girls are going to turn their heads to him," Professor Flitwick said, grinning. "I hope the Sorting Hat will place you into Ravenclaw House."

"Ah Filius, but I'm sure that Harry is going to be sorted into Slytherin," McGonagall threw in, remembering clearly what Harry had said about the Sorting in his visions.

Harry smiled, as he explained, "Whatever House I'm going to be sorted into, I hope that I'll be able to help improving the relationship between the Houses. As far as I heard, they aren't very good so far."

Dumbledore cast Harry an enthusiastic look. "That my boy we'd all appreciate very much," he said gently. "But now you should go and look under at the Christmas tree. I'm sure I saw a bunch of presents with your name on them."

Harry did not have to be told twice and hurried to collect his first Christmas presents ever from under the tree. He was not overly surprised, however, delighted at the sight of the broom, which he found in the large box from Professor McGonagall.

"It's a Nimbus 2000," his godmother explained pleasantly, when he thanked her profusely. "In fact, it's the newest model, which isn't even released yet. But a former student of mine is working at Nimbus, and I managed to convince him to provide one for me."

"Wow, everyone will be very jealous," Rolanda Hooch commented, eyeing the new broom with apparent interest. "Do you like flying, Harry?"

"I can't wait to try it out," Harry admitted, happily letting his right hand wander over the smooth wood.

"We can go flying as soon as you're finished unpacking your presents," the flying instructor promised, and Harry nodded enthusiastically. _'I hope Severus won't mind,'_ he thought, as he turned back to the small pile of presents.

From his father, Harry received a wooden box with holes in it, and Harry carefully opened it, almost expecting a snake, when his eyes fell on a tiny, orange kitten. "Awww, how cute," he said as he pulled it out of the box and held it to his chest.

All of a sudden, a small voice spoke up right in his head. 'Hello, I am Neko, and I've just bonded with you. I'm now your familiar.'

"Hello Neko," Harry whispered, before he informed his father about the cat's words.

"I thought she'd do that," Severus replied, smirking. "She's a magical kitten."

"Have you ever seen your father's Animagus form?" McGonagall spoke up and, seeing Harry give her a questioning look, explained, "He is a magical lynx, a very impressive kind of cat."

_'I wonder what a magical lynx is like,'_ Harry thought, trying to recall if he had ever seen that form in one of his visions to no avail. Apparently understanding Harry's curiosity, Severus promised in a bored voice to show him his form later on in private.

HP

When Harry returned to his own room in the evening, after two hours of flying together with several teachers and students, the house-elves had placed the books, which he had received from the other teachers, onto his desk, and Neko was peacefully asleep on his bed. As soon as the boy lay down next to her, she changed her position, cuddling close to his face.

_'She reminds me of Crookshanks,'_ Harry thought, _'Hermione's cat. I need Hermione in order to prevent certain things from happening and do everything better than it was in my visions. She'll understand if I tell her about my visions, and she'll help me, even if she still doesn't know me at all at this time. I should try to go and meet her as soon as I can. Maybe I can become friends with her without Ron being involved. I don't think I want to friend him again if I remember how jealous he was the whole time.'_ Recalling how he had admired the girl and had wanted her to become his girlfriend but that he couldn't even ask her because of their friendship with Ron, he drifted off to sleep thinking, _'This time I'll get together with her.'_

When Severus entered the room to tuck Harry in and wish him a good night, he realised with a combination of surprise and amusement that the boy was already asleep with a happy smile playing on his lips.

When Harry woke up in the morning, the thought of visiting Hermione was still in front of his mind. _'The next time Severus is in a staff meeting, I'm going to flash to her,'_ he resolved and skimmed the shelf with the books, which he had already read during the last six months, in order to pick out the most interesting ones to lend to his best friend.

HP

On Sunday afternoon, Harry was assisting his father in the potions lab as usual during the weekends, when Severus informed him that he had to attend a staff meeting shortly and that Harry could either accompany him or remain at home, as he wished.

"I'd like to go flying in my phoenix form for a bit," Harry replied immediately, trying to hide his excitement from his father. "May I please?"

Severus gave Harry a sharp look, but the boy seemed happy and in a good condition, so there was no reason to not allow him to transform. "Very well," he relented, "but stay nearby and don't be late for dinner. As you know, the students are going to come back tonight."

Harry promised to be on time, and as soon as his father left for the meeting, he transformed into his phoenix form and flashed himself in front of the Grangers' house, which he knew from his visions, well aware that he could not flash straight into the house and arrive right in front of Hermione. Glancing up and down the quiet street, he made sure that no one was nearby, before he changed back into his human form._ 'Oh no, I should have left my robes at home,' _he realised, when he stepped in front of the entrance door and hesitantly rang the door bell.

A short while later, Mrs. Granger opened the door, giving him a surprised look.

"Hello Mrs. Granger, I am Harry Snape. I'd like to visit with Hermione," he said quietly, observing how a small smile appeared on the Muggle's face.

"Sure," she replied kindly and led him into the living room. "Hermione, you have a visitor," she then shouted towards the stairs, from where Hermione emerged an instant later.

"Hello," she addressed him in clear surprise. "Who are you? I've never met you before."

"Hi Hermione, I'm Harry Snape, and you don't know me... yet, but I know you well," Harry replied, putting up a smile in spite of feeling everything else but confident about the situation. "Please listen me out, I'll explain everything."

"If you know me well, what's my favourite colour?" Hermione demanded to know, causing Harry's smile to intensify as he replied correctly. "And when is my birthday?" she continued to ask, clearly pleased when he once again could answer the question.

_'She really behaves like in my visions,'_ Harry mused. _'She's awesome. I just hope she'll accept being my friend.'_

"Oh Hermione, stop questioning the boy," her mother instructed her, shaking her head, as she sat on the sofa next to the children, just when her husband joined them as well.

"Dan Granger," he introduced himself to Harry, giving the boy a critical look.

"Hello Mr. Granger, I'm Harry Snape," Harry replied and hesitantly began to speak. "Please listen to me first, even if some things might seem strange." When everyone voiced their agreement, he explained how he lived with his relatives and had ended up in a coma seven months ago. "While I was in the coma, I spent two months having visions about my own future, which is why I know that Hermione and I are going to be best friends." Noticing that Hermione, but especially her parents, looked at him in clear disbelief, he queried, "Hermione, you can do strange things, can't you? Like making people's hair change to a different colour or such, right?"

"Yes, I can," Hermione blurted out, suddenly seeming very interested in the conversation. "How do you know that? Is that bad?"

Harry smirked. "No, in fact it's a very good thing. Like I'm a wizard, you're a witch, and from the summer next year onwards, when we'll both be eleven, we're going to attend Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry." As to underline his statement, especially for the girl's parents, he pulled his copy of _'Hogwarts: A History'_ out of his robe pocket. "This was one of your most favourite books in my visions, and you drove everyone crazy citing from that book," he explained, smiling, before he turned to the Grangers.

"In fact, I'm not allowed to tell Hermione or you about magic at all, but as I said I know that I'm going to be Hermione's best friend in the future, and I didn't want to wait for more than a year but wanted to become friends with her right away. So I secretly came here. Even if both of you are not magical, Hermione is going to become a brilliant witch and will be best of our year during our whole time at Hogwarts."

"So you came here to tell Hermione that she's a witch," Dan Granger spoke up, seemingly upset. "Do you have any proof, or do you really think we're going to believe in the ramblings of a nine-year-old, which are based of nothing but so-called visions?"

"Dad!" Hermione shouted, giving her father an angry glare. "Knowing that I'm a witch and not just a complete idiot is proof enough, and I'm more than ready to accept that I'm going to have such a nice friend." Turning to Harry, she asked, "How can I get into that school?"

"When you're going to turn eleven in September, one of the professors will visit you and tell you and your parents what I've just told you," Harry explained, adding as an afterthought, "It would be nice if you didn't give me out at that time."

"We surely won't give you away, Harry," Mrs. Granger promised immediately. "In fact, I appreciate that you came to tell us about the matter now, as I'm very pleased to know the reason for Hermione's strange occurrences, about which I was very worried - without reason it seems."

"What subjects are taught at that school?" Mr. Granger threw in, apparently still not convinced about the whole matter.

"Transfiguration, where we learn to change things into other things or even to transform into an animal, Charms, where we learn to for example make people in pictures move or magically switch on or off lights, Potions, where we mostly make Healing potions, similar to medicine, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, Defence Against the Dark Arts and some more," Harry explained, noticing that Hermione's eyes lit with joy.

"Mum, Dad, I want to attend Hogwarts," Hermione spoke up in determination. "I want to learn all these things and do magic, where no one can look down at me thinking of me as a freak."

"And you only know these things from your visions?" Mr. Granger queried, giving Harry a sharp look.

"Not only," Harry replied and told the surprised family how he had flashed himself to the Potions Master after waking up from his coma. "He and the Headmaster found out that my visions are authentic, and they kept me at Hogwarts. It's my home now. Just yesterday, Professor Snape has adopted me and became my father. Originally, my name was Harry Potter, but now it's Harry Snape." He glanced at his wrist watch and said, apologetically, "I'm sorry, but I have to go back now, because the students are going to come back from their winter holidays tonight, and I must be on time for the Welcoming Feast."

"Oh no," Hermione blurted out in clear disappointment. "There are still so many things I want to ask you. Can you come back here tomorrow?"

Harry inwardly grinned at the girl's reaction, which was exactly like he remembered her from the visions. However, he let out a long sigh, before he admitted, "I'm not sure when I'll be able to come here again. I'll try to tell my Dad about visiting you as soon as I have the opportunity to do so. If he's not upset, then I can ask him if I may visit you again, but if I have to come here secretly, it'll be more difficult. But I'll write to you," he promised. "The magical world uses owls to deliver post, and I'll send you my letter with a school owl. You can just give your reply to the owl and tell it to take it to me then."

"Harry, please invite your father to accompany you and visit us at any time," Mrs. Granger said gently. "We're very grateful that you came and told us what you did today. You've made us all very happy, especially my little girl, and for that I can't thank you enough."

"Shall I take you back to your school by car, so you'll be on time?" Mr. Granger asked in a soft voice as if to make up for his earlier behaviour, but Harry politely declined and explained about his method of travel.

"Show me," Hermione said, excitedly, looking at her new friend in expectation.

Harry grinned. Before he transformed, he took the books, which he had brought for his friend, out of his robe pocket. "I've already finished reading these, so I thought you might want to borrow them." With that he changed into his phoenix form, ignoring three simultaneous gasps as he recalled what Neko had told him about the bonding process. _'I want to bond with Hermione,'_ he thought, pushing a huge amount of magic into his wish.

All of a sudden, he felt incredibly relieved and outright happy, even if absolutely exhausted. #Good-bye Mione. I promise I'll come back as soon as I can# he trilled, smiling inwardly as he heard her reply, knowing that the bond worked and she could understand his phoenix trills. The thought _'No one can take her from me'_ crossed his mind, as he concentrated on flashing back into his own room at Hogwarts.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind feedback for the previous chapter!_

* * *

_**To my readers of DREAMING THROUGH HOGWARTS: I am sorry... I have been very ill these last two months and have not been able to keep up with my daily postings. I will continue this story (not sure if as a daily or a normal story) sometime soon. Thank you for your understanding!**_


	6. Understanding

**To Sleep, Perchance to Dream  
****by Healer Pomfrey****  
**

_Please refer to the disclaimer and warnings in chapter 1!_

* * *

**Understanding**

By the time Harry arrived in his own room, he felt utterly exhausted and had a splitting headache. He remained sitting on the bed in his phoenix form for a little while, before he transformed back and slowly walked out of his room to search for his father.

Severus was sitting in his favourite armchair in the living room, reading _Potions Quarterly_. He looked up, smiling, when he heard Harry enter the room; however, his expression turned into concern upon taking in his son's pale face.

"Harry, are you feeling all right?" he enquired, worriedly.

"I'm fine," Harry replied a little too fast, as he let himself sink onto his usual spot on the sofa next to Severus. "Just a bit of a headache," he added, knowing that Severus knew better than to believe anything but the truth.

Giving the boy a sharp look, Severus pulled his wand and pointed it at Harry's head. "It's not just a headache, you're also running a temperature," he corrected the child, summoning two small phials from his lab. Seeing contentedly that Harry visible relaxed at the potions' effects, he asked sternly, "What have you been doing to make yourself so ill this time?"

Harry let out a long sigh, looking at his father with anxiousness. "Can you promise me that you won't be upset, sir?" he asked, hesitating.

Severus merely quirked an eyebrow, and Harry hesitantly told his father about his visit at the Grangers, adding an apology as well as a short explanation as to why he had decided to go and see his future best friend. The matter with the bonding process he left out, conveniently.

"I suppose you know that what you did was incredibly stupid," Severus drawled. "I'm not even talking about the fact that you weren't allowed to tell a Muggle born witch and her parents about magic. However, you should have informed me in advance, and I could have either accompanied you or at least apparated you there, so that you didn't have to use more magic than your body could handle."

"I'm sorry sir," Harry replied, sadly averting his eyes to the floor.

"Knowing Ms. Granger from what I saw in your visions, I assume that you did the girl a huge favour though," Severus continued in a calming voice, "and I'll speak with your godmothers and Theresa about the matter. We'll see what we can do to assure that the two of you can meet on a regular basis."

"Thank you so much, sir," Harry said, looking at the professor in absolute delight.

"We'll see," Severus replied, clearly amused. "Now are you feeling well enough to attend the Welcoming Feast?"

"Of course," Harry reassured him, feeling very relieved that his father seemed not to be angry.

HP

Knowing that it would be strange if he took his first meal in the Great Hall at the Gryffindor table, especially since his father was the Head of Slytherin, Harry decided to sit between his father and his godmother at the Head table. _'Tomorrow morning, I'll sit at the Slytherin table, and then later on, I can join the twins,'_ he thought, absentmindedly listening as the Headmaster greeted the students. Suddenly, he felt everyone looking at him and thought, _'Thank Merlin I'm Harry Snape and not Harry Potter anymore. Otherwise, it would be much worse.'_ To his relief, the meal popped up on the tables, distracting everyone from Hogwarts' youngest inhabitant.

During the Welcoming Feast, Harry noticed that the potions, which his father had given him earlier, had only helped so much. He still felt feverish and sore and wished nothing more than to just go to bed. However, not wanting anyone to notice how ill he felt, he ate just a little bit of everything that had somehow found its way onto his plate.

"Harry," Severus' voice suddenly brought him back to reality. "We're going to have a short House meeting in Slytherin in a few minutes. Would you like to accompany me in order to get to know some of the younger students?"

"Yes, I'd like that," Harry replied, unable to feign much enthusiasm at the thought.

Severus gave him a sharp look. "Harry, are you still not feeling well?" he queried, quirking an eyebrow.

"Not really," Harry admitted in a small voice, giving his father an apologetic look.

"Very well then, let's go back to our quarters," Severus decided and led Harry out of the Great Hall, just when the Feast ended and Dumbledore dismissed the students.

Fifteen minutes later, Harry was tucked into bed and Severus apologized that he could not give him any more potions for at least three more hours.

"It's all right Dad. I'll be fine," Harry replied, smiling. In spite of his headache and fever, he could still feel the happiness, which he had sensed after bonding with Hermione. As soon as his father left the room to head to the Slytherin common room, he closed his eyes and was just about to drift off to sleep, when a faint voice penetrated his mind.

'Harry please write soon. I can't wait to hear more about Hogwarts and to meet you again.'

'Hermione?' Harry thought, incredulously. 'Are you able to mind think to me?'

'Apparently yes,' his best friend replied. 'I don't know what you did, Harry, but we can talk through telepathy. That's absolutely brilliant. I'm so happy.'

'Me too,' Harry thought back, unconsciously rubbing his forehead. Somehow, he could sense that Hermione was very happy and excited. However, he couldn't help feeling awful. 'Maybe I depleted my magic,' he mused, contemplating if he should tell his father about the bond or not.

'Harry, are you feeling all right?' Hermione suddenly asked.

'I'm a bit tired,' Harry admitted and explained that he had intended to bond with her in his phoenix form in order to enable her to comprehend his phoenix talk but that he seemed to have put too much magic into the bond.

'But that's absolutely brilliant, Harry,' Hermione replied, happily. 'I'm so happy. I've never had a friend, let alone such an awesome one like you, and I think it's fantastic that we can communicate like this. I can sense that you're in pain though, so I think I'll let you sleep for now. Contact me in the morning, when you'll feel better.'

'I will,' Harry promised, relieved that the girl was so understanding. 'And my father promised to arrange something, so that we'll be able to meet regularly.' He could still sense Hermione's feelings of happiness, when he drifted off to sleep.

HP

An hour later, Minerva McGonagall and the two Healer Pomfreys came to visit Severus for tea, and Severus told the three witches how Harry had spent the afternoon. "The strange thing about the matter is that he seems to be extremely happy in spite of having a tremendous headache and a fever."

"Did you give him something for his ailments?" Poppy queried, immediately turning into Healer's mode.

"How would I not?" Severus replied, indignantly. "However, neither potion seemed to have worked."

Poppy rose from her chair. "Let me check on the child," she said and entered the boy's room, followed closely by everyone else.

The adults stopped dead in their tracks upon seeing the huge smile that was playing on the boys face. "I've never seen him so happy," Theresa spoke up in surprise, while her granddaughter waved her wand over the child.

"He has completely depleted his magic," she finally said, giving Severus a stern look. "Did he tell you if he cast any other magic than transforming and flashing?"

"I have no idea," Severus replied, flabbergasted. "He didn't say anything else."

Severus and the three witches decided to let the boy sleep and question him in the morning. Only when they were back in the living room, Severus suddenly put his hand against his forehead and groaned. Seeing everyone look at him in concern, he slowly spoke up. "As far as I know from the visions, the girl was his best friend, although there were always the three of them, including the youngest Weasley boy. Maybe this is far-fetched, but I can imagine Harry wanting to bond to the girl in order to get closer to her before meeting Weasley."

The three witches let out a simultaneous gasp. However, Minerva quickly agreed with her colleague. "That would probably explain his contented expression as well as the depletion of his magic. What does it mean for the two of them though?"

"That depends on the grade of bonding he performed," Severus replied, dryly. "There is no other way to find out but to ask him in the morning."

HP

When Harry's mind turned to awareness, his father was sitting on the edge of his bed, reading his Potions journal.

"Good morning Dad," Harry greeted the man, noticing at the same time that he felt much better than in the evening. _'I'm bonded to Hermione,'_ he mused, still feeling extremely happy at the thought.

"Harry," Severus replied, giving the boy a sharp look. "You completely depleted your magic and have to remain in bed today," he said in a stern voice, emphasizing, "even if you think you feel better by now, which is only because I already gave you some potions."

"Oh ok," Harry replied, sighing.

"Would you care to explain what you did to deplete your magic?" Severus asked sternly. "Just transforming and flashing to your friend won't make you so ill."

To Severus' surprise, Harry chuckled. "I tried to bond with Hermione so she could understand me when I'm in my phoenix form. But apparently I put too much magic into the bond, and we're now able to communicate through Telepathy. This is so cool, and I'm really happy it worked out so well."

"Are you sure that Ms. Granger feels about it the same way?" Severus queried, slowly letting his hand run through his silky hair, while he pondered how to react to the news.

"Yes Dad, I can sense that she's very happy and also very excited about it," his son shocked him even more, grinning broadly, as he added, "She still seems to be asleep though."

When Poppy chose that instant to enter the boys room in order to check on Harry, Severus informed her, "Harry depleted his magic by casting something close to a marriage bond at his friend."

HP

"A marriage bond?" Poppy gasped, staring at the boy in disbelief.

"They can communicate and sense each other's feelings through the bond," Severus elaborated, "and knowing how powerful Harry is and what the girl meant to him in his visions, there is no doubt that it'll be a strong enough bond to be permanent."

The Healer waved her wand over the boy, shaking her head in exasperation. "Harry, you should know better than to deplete your magic to such an extent," she lightly scolded him, before adding in a stern voice, "You're going to stay where you are the whole week, and no magic whatsoever."

Harry let out a long sigh, and Severus queried, "Poppy, will he be allowed to accompany Theresa and myself to the Grangers tonight?"

"He should not..."

"We're going to visit the Grangers?" Harry threw in, delighted. "Oh Aunt Poppy, please let me go. I promise I won't do any magic at all."

"We'll see," the Healer replied in apparent annoyance and left the room.

Severus instructed Harry to rest, promising to come back and check on him after the first morning class. With that he excused himself, ordering Cicero to bring breakfast for Harry on the way out.

'Hermione,' Harry thought to the girl, as soon as the tall elf had left. 'Are you awake?'

'Harry,' Hermione replied, seemingly happy. 'Are you all right?'

Harry sighed. 'I used too much magic, so I'm not allowed to do any magic for a week, but other than that I'm very happy to be able to talk with you.'

'I've read the first chapters of 'Hogwarts: A History', and it's absolutely awesome,' Hermione beamed. 'Thank you so much for allowing me to borrow your book. I love it.'

'I know,' Harry replied, chuckling. 'Mione, my father and Theresa intend to go and speak with your parents tonight. Theresa is the grandmother of our Healer and my teacher here for the time until I'm going to attend Hogwarts as a student. Will your parents be at home in the evening?'

'Of course,' the girl replied with apparent excitement. 'I hope you're going to come as well.'

Harry hesitated. 'If they let me go,' he then thought, slowly, not wanting the girl to know about his health problems, especially since he did not have them in his visions.

'Harry, you're not all right, are you?' Hermione enquired. 'Don't keep anything from me, but tell me the truth. And then I want to ask you some questions about your visions about our time at Hogwarts.'

_'Typically Hermione_,' Harry mused. On the one hand, it was annoying that she seemed to know him so well because of their bond in spite of only having met once, on the other hand, he felt very happy about having the friend of his visions so close already.

'The visions that I had last summer caused some trouble,' he explained to the girl, who remained quiet and listened as he informed her about his headaches and problems concentrating for longer times. 'I'm not sure, but since our bond seems to be quite strong, I'd like to try if I can send you a memory,' he finally added, pensively, not even thinking about any instructions to not do magic for a while. He concentrated on the vision of his first train ride, where he had met Hermione on the Hogwarts Express and tried to push the memory through the connection to his friend, as the scene played in front of his mind.

'Harry, this is absolutely awesome,' Hermione replied with excitement. 'Who're the other two boys?'

'The one with the toad is Neville. He's a very nice boy and turned out a really good friend. The one with the rat is Ron. He was our best friend in my visions...' He slowly trailed off, not wanting to say anything bad about the boy.

'But what?' Hermione queried, impatiently.

'Ah, he was fighting with you and jealous of me during the whole seven years,' Harry replied, sighing.

'Well, then we don't have to make him our best friend,' Hermione said, firmly. 'Plus we still have more than a year to watch your visions together and to think about what to do differently in reality. At least we're going to get through everything together.'

'That's true,' Harry agreed, feeling very happy. _'I did the right thing yesterday,'_ he mused, contentedly.

HP

To his relief, the Healers grudgingly allowed him to accompany Theresa and his father to the Grangers. While Hermione and Harry spent some time talking in the girl's room, Theresa and Severus suggested to the Grangers that Hermione could attend Theresa's classes together with Harry.

"Knowing your daughter from the visions that Harry showed me, I believe that it would be the best for her to study together with Harry," Severus explained in his soft, baritone voice. "Madam Pomfrey is teaching Harry normal primary school knowledge as well as easy magic along with facts about the magical world, which other children, who grow up in a magical environment, are being taught by their parents."

The Grangers exchanged a glance, before Mrs. Granger replied, "Thank you so much for the invitation, Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey. I'm sure that Hermione would prefer studying together with Harry over continuing to attend the primary school here. Since she met Harry yesterday, she has been behaving like a different person. I've never seen her so happy before."

"How is Hermione going to get to Hogwarts?" her husband queried, giving the visitors a sharp look.

Severus slightly inclined his head. "I can make a Portkey for her, which is a magical transportation method," he offered and explained, "It'll take her to Harry's and my quarters at Hogwarts, as soon as she speaks the activation password, and she'll travel back the same way in the afternoon."

The adults finally decided that Hermione should attend classes together with Harry from the following day onwards, and when Severus invited the Grangers to visit Hogwarts the following weekend, the Muggles gratefully agreed, still unaware of the fact that their whole life was going to be turned upside down more than could be expected.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind feedback for the previous chapter!_


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